New Year's Eve is fast approaching — will you be drinking? If so, you may want to pick up some asparagus while you're laying in champagne, liquor and other supplies for your tipple-lipped festivities; studies show the stalky vegetable may actually help treat hangovers.

Research published in the Journal of Food Science studied the effects of asparagus shoots and leaves on mouse and human liver cells. Specifically, researchers took a look at potentially beneficial amino acids and minerals found in asparagus extract (so maybe not exactly the full vegetable). "Cellular toxicities," as lead researcher B.Y. Kim calls them, were alleviated with asparagus, and the veggie even protected liver cells, the team's study suggests.

The study, which was actually published back in 2009, is available free of charge here. More at Popular Science.